The flaws between the lines
by Mibamonster
Summary: Hogwarts AU. With Victor Dashkov rising to power again, the magical world lives in constant terror. For Sydney Sage, things are complicated by the return of Rose Hathaway and Lissa Dragomir, her duties as an Alchemist, and conflicting loyalties. As she tries to find her place, Sydney discovers a side of herself she never even imagined. Sydrian. (Other canon pairings apply)
1. Return

'Now, Sydney, I expect you to do your best this year.' The lines in my father's face deepened as he frowned at me. He'd been under a lot of stress lately – but then, who hadn't been, with Death Eater attacks happening left and right? Even on Platform 9 ¾ , the atmosphere was filled with fear as parents said goodbye to their children.

I nodded. 'I will, sir.'

'Of course, Keith will give you more extensive information on your duties. I want you to listen to him in every matter, do you hear me? You might be a Prefect now, but he is the Head Boy and if you ever want to make it to that position…' He took a deep breath, but did not elaborate on the issue. He didn't need to; it was something that had been discussed a _lot _over the summer.

My eyes darted to my sister Carly, who was standing a couple of feet away, chatting to some fellow Hufflepuffs. It took all my willpower to keep my expression polite when I turned back to my father. 'I know, sir.'

'Good. That was all. I expect a report from you in a week.' With those words, my father Disapparated, leaving me to carry my suitcase onto the train. I was still early, since arriving late to any event was something the Sage family would never do, so I had my pick of the compartments. Just as I'd placed my luggage in the overhead space, however, there was a disruption on the platform. I was about to roll my eyes at the drama made over some third years with too much Zonko's merchandise, but when I saw what was really going on, my jaw dropped. There, between a crowd that was parted like the Red Sea, were Lissa Dragomir and Rose Hathaway, two girls who used to go to Hogwarts with me until they'd disappeared halfway through last year. I couldn't believe that they'd return and, judging from the look on Rose's face, she couldn't either.

'Look, I know that our incredible beauty might be too much for some of you to handle, but has no one ever told you that staring is _rude?_' she said loudly to no one in particular. 'Merlin, Liss. We're gone for a couple of months and they lose all sense of propriety.'

Lissa guffawed, though it sounded forced. 'Right, because you're the person people look at if they want to see proper behaviour. It was only your good influence keeping them in check.'

'Lucky for them, I'm back, so order at Hogwarts can finally be restored. Really, it's unbelievable that they haven't made me Head Girl yet.' Rose grinned as she walked towards a train compartment – my train compartment.

Some of my father's 'advice' came back to me: _Don't get into trouble. Don't get mixed in anything strange. Stay away from any rogue students_. If anyone had ever qualified as a rogue student, it was Rose Hathaway. I could hardly start breaking my father's rules before the school year had even started.

I left my luggage, save for one bag, and hurried off before Rose or Lissa spotted me. I had to be in the Prefects' compartment anyway. As I walked through the near-empty train, it struck me how ironic it was that Rose had actually got here early, since last year she'd had to run after the train and jump on.

There was no one else in the Prefects' compartment, so I took out my _Advanced Transfigurations._ Soon, others came trickling in, looking nervous or self-satisfied: Eddie Castile as my fellow Gryffindor Prefect, and Mia Rinaldi and Ian Jansen from Ravenclaw. None of them seemed surprised to find me there, but then, it had been a running joke among our year that I'd probably be Headmistress before I'd left Hogwarts.

'Hey, Sydney.' Smiling broadly, Ian took a seat next to me. 'I hope you had a nice summer?'

'I did, yes, thank you.' It had definitely been very productive, with my father tutoring me in Alchemy they would never consider teaching at Hogwarts. I nodded at Ian's shining new badge. 'I see you got one, too?'

His hand stroked the Hogwarts crest and the big 'P' in the middle. 'Yes, yes. My parents weren't exactly surprised, but they are still proud of me. I hope we get to do patrols together. There are some I'd rather not… Well, let's just say I am not sure if they're really up to this job.' He eyed Mia, who had always been known for her beauty rather than her brains. She caught him staring and raised her eyebrows in disdain.

When Ian started talking again, he was leaning into me. He was closer than made me comfortable, but that was necessary if I wanted to hear what he whispered.

'Have you seen Dragomir has come back? And Hathaway?' He tried, unsuccessfully, to hide his excitement under a tone of disapproval. 'I wonder how they think they're ever going to fit in again. And what they've been up to. They've probably been partying and now they've run out of money.'

'I doubt they'd leave Hogwarts just to go partying,' I said. 'Especially now. They'd never take a risk like that.'

'I heard Dragomir got pregnant and Hathaway went with her for when the baby was born, to force the father to adopt,' said Alexandra Badica, who was a Hufflepuff Prefect from the year above us. 'He is some ridiculously wealthy Frenchman, is what I've heard.'

'Really?' Mia Rinaldi had appeared next to Alexandra. 'I thought they'd been caught doing Fairy Dust and had to go to Azkaban for a couple of months. So they could be rehabilitated, and now they have to redo last year.'

Eddie castile scoffed, causing Mia to snap, 'What?'

He shrugged. 'You don't really think the Ministry would've been looking for them if they had just smoked some Fairy Dust? Or that Lissa is pregnant? Those theories are ridiculous!'

'Oh, I'm _sorry. _If you know what happened, do feel free to share,' Alexandra said, crossing her arms.

Before Eddie could respond, the door opened and the Head Boy and Girl came in: Keith Darnell and Donna Stanton. They both did a quick scan of the room, and Keith's eye lingered on Mia a lot longer than on anyone else. The confident smirk he gave her made my insides crawl, but I decided to just focus on Stanton and pretend Keith wasn't there. Fortunately, Stanton did most of the talking, and I was too busy writing down all my duties to dwell on Keith and the one eye that kept staring straight forward, even though the other one went from one Prefect to another.

I turned out to be less fortunate when Stanton handed out the patrol schedules and I saw I'd been paired up with Ian three times a week. Judging from his look, he envisioned the same scenarios I did: hours spent together at night, talking, with almost nothing to distract us. The only difference between him and me was that the prospect seemed to excite him.

It wasn't that I didn't like Ian, I did. It was just that over the last couple of months even _I_ had started noticing his crush on me, and I didn't know what to do with it. I had tried fancying him back (after all, he made a logical match, being another academically-focused Alchemist), but my body was not producing the right hormones. No matter how hard I'd tried, I never saw him as more than a friend, and eventually I'd given up… but he hadn't.

'So, we've got our first patrol together,' he said, when we were allowed to go back to our own compartments. 'I'm so glad I'm paired with you so often. Imagine spending an entire evening with Rinaldi…' He grimaced.

'She's not too bad,' I said. 'They wouldn't have made her a Prefect if they didn't think she could do it.'

'Sometimes even Kirova makes mistakes. Anyhow, where is your compartment?'

'Oh, it's quite at the front. You don't have to walk all the way with me,' I said, hoisting my bag higher over my shoulder.

'Are you sure? You know, you could always come sit with us – I'm sure everyone would love to hear what Jared Sage taught you this summer.' Ian usually sat with a group of Alchemists, mainly students from Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Sometimes I joined them, but there was always a distinct awkwardness between us; my father was Jared Sage, a high-ranking Alchemist and respected member of the Wizengamot, and everyone expected me to have a career just as stellar as his. Sometimes this was flattering, but more often it put a lot of pressure on me.

I smiled at Ian. 'Thanks, but I think I'd better not. I promised some others I'd sit with them.'

If he was disappointed, he hid it well. 'If you change your mind…'

'I'll know where to find you.' Leaving him with his friends, I made my way to the front of the train, wondering who had taken my place. I came past the compartment Rose and Lissa were in, along with Mason Ashford. Quickly, before they could see me, I walked on, until I found the compartment where I'd left my stuff. It seemed empty, and for a moment I had the hopes of having this space all to myself, until I spotted Christian Ozera.

I considered taking up Ian's offer after all, but Christian had already noticed me, so I opened the door and stepped inside.

'They made you Prefect?' was the first he said. 'Wow. That must be the world's biggest plot twist since never.'

'You know me, always full of surprises.' I never really knew if I liked Christian. He was a Gryffindor and, like me, he had not expected to be put there. His family came from a long line of Slytherins and usually lived up to the stereotype quite well. His parents had been among those that followed Victor Dashkov the last time he rose to had been found and killed by Aurors in front of Christian, when Victor Dashkov fell fourteen years ago. Ever since, people had been expecting him to get Sorted into Slytherin and follow his parents' example, but so far the only crime he had committed was being remarkably anti-social. Still, once in a while his wit made me wonder what he was really thinking behind his sarcastic façade.

Since Christian didn't say anything else and I didn't have anything I particularly wanted to share with him, I returned to my books. For a couple of hours, we were silent, except when the lady came by with her trolley and Christian bought some chocolate frogs. By the time I'd covered eight chapters, however, I grew tired of the silence.

'How was your summer?' I said.

'As fun as can be expected when Death Eaters are roaming around and everyone wonders when you're going to join them. All the Ministry officials coming to 'visit' us were just _so _wonderful to have around all the time.' He flashed me a brilliant smile that was as real as Keith's new eye. 'And how was yours?'

I had been about to say 'Fine', but something stopped me. Instead I said, 'I spent every day working or studying, from nine to five, unless I was networking. I probably met the same Ministry people you did.'

Christian smirked. 'Oh, joy. I'm sure they all adored you: Jared Sage's protégée, about to conquer the world with your intelligence and hard work.'

'I wouldn't be too certain of that. Most of them _adore _me, yes, but they don't really take me seriously.' It was why, when they came over for dinner, I'd stopped giving my opinion on grave matters. They always told me not to worry my 'pretty little head' about it yet, although they were fine with me doing their accounting and arranging their files.

'They're just going to regret that once you're Minister for Magic,' said Christian. 'The youngest ever, at the same time Headmistress of Hogwarts, probably running some charities as well…'

Something in his tone struck a nerve. 'Are you trying to imply something?'

'Yes.'

I waited for him to continue, but he didn't. 'Well?'

'If your entire summer is spent working for those wankers, you might want to reconsider your priorities. At least I had some fun with my aunt.' He shrugged. 'But then, I'm about to become a mass murderer any moment – maybe you don't want any advice on how to have fun from me.'

'That's not something to joke about,' I said sharply. 'You of all people should know that.'

'If I can't even make jokes about it, who can? I have to share a dormitory with Aaron Drozdov – I need _something _to keep me sane. Especially now that Lissa has returned.' He paused. 'You don't happen to know anything about that?'

'I just heard that she was pregnant and on drugs.'

'Something gives me the impression you don't believe that,' he said.

I shook my head. 'Whatever they were doing, I think it had to do with Lissa's safety. Rose can be rash sometimes, but she's not stupid.'

Christian looked out of the window. 'They probably had an even better summer than we did. Lucky them.'

'Yeah. Lucky them.'

* * *

**A/N: So I have certain ideas about how I'm going to do this (the storyline is going to be a sort of mash-up between VA and BL) and what roles characters are going to fill, etc., but if anyone has any advice or requests, please do let me know!**


	2. Old friendships

By the time I got to my dormitory, I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for ten hours straight. However, the pointed silence in the room made it clear that drama was about to unfurl. Usually, Julia, Kirsten and Emma chatted away for a while before they went to sleep, but now they were communicating through disapproving looks. The reason for that was clear: the extra bed that had been added. Just as I was wondering where the occupant of that bed was, Rose came out of the bathroom in her pyjamas.

She smiled when she saw me. 'Hiya, Sydney.'

'Hello.' I didn't know what else to say to her, and I could feel the other girls' eyes on us. 'I need to… use the loo, if that's okay with you.' I grabbed my bag of toiletries from my suitcase and locked myself in the bathroom. Staring at my face in the small mirror, I contemplated my course of action.

On the one hand, staying away from Rose was a good idea, career-wise. I very much doubted she had become rule-obeying in the couple of months that she'd been away; if anything, she probably started breaking _laws_ rather than rules. She was bound to get me into trouble sooner or later.

But then, Rose and I had been friends before she'd left. We hadn't been as close as she and Lissa, but Rose was one of the few people I felt I could confide in, and I had been some sort of stability in her wild social life. Of course, I could have overestimated that friendship; she hadn't even told me she was leaving. It had always seemed to me that friends would let each other know if one of them took off all of a sudden.

A familiar feeling of betrayal flared up, but I suppressed it. Getting angry wouldn't get me anywhere. It was best if I just steered clear of Rose, focused on my academics and Prefect duties, and tried to keep order in my life.

When I re-entered the dormitory, it was dark and silent. The only light came from a floating candle by Rose's bed, where she was reading. She glanced up, her features mysteriously beautiful in the candle light.

'So, are you also _very tired_, and you'd _love _to stay up and chat, but you _really _need to go to bed?' she said, just loud enough for the other girls to hear through their closed curtains.

'Yes, actually, if you don't mind.'

She blinked, but Rose was never distracted for long. 'Yeah, I kind of do. Is something wrong?'

'No, nothing. I'm just tired,' I said, getting into bed and closing the curtains. 'Good night, Rose.' My voice sounded cold even to me, but I just did not have the energy to deal with her right now. Focusing on my breathing, I tried to keep out the guilt and anger and confusion. _One… two… three… _

What would Rose and Lissa have been doing while they were out there? I still didn't think Lissa had been pregnant, but what was the real reason they'd left? _Ten… eleven…_ Especially since they hadn't told anyone; not even Rose's mother had known where they were. Maybe they'd been brought under some kind of protection, a safe house or something, but then…

I squeezed my eyes shut. _Count your breaths. Okay. Twenty four… twenty five… Twenty…_

Surely there was no place safer than Hogwarts? Why would they have taken that risk, unless they believed Hogwarts was dangerous? _ Twenty seven, twenty eight…_ Rose could've at least let someone know she was all right, even if she didn't tell anyone where she was, right?

Around breath seventy four, my curtains rustled and Rose's face peeked in.

'Syd?' she whispered, climbing into my bed.

_So much for my quiet night. _'Okay, _what _are you doing?' I sat up and tried to look dignified, which was made difficult by Rose sitting on my legs. When she noticed, she quickly apologised and moved to the right.

'I knew they were all going to act weird around me,' she said, nodding at the other beds, 'but I was hoping we'd still be friends? I mean, you're angry and I understand that you probably don't want to see me, but I'm really sorry for what happened.'

'Oh, you're sorry?' I bit at her. 'What for, exactly? Leaving without telling us what had happened? Never letting anyone know that you were okay, or even alive? People disappear _every day_ and you just took off!' It was an effort to keep my voice in check. All the worries and frustrations from the last couple of months came rushing back to me in a giant wave of anger. 'I thought you'd been kidnapped and murdered, if not when you left then surely while you were out there!'

Rose's shoulders slumped more and more with each word I said. 'I know,' she said. 'Really, I do – '

'Do you? Then why didn't you send us a letter? Just a tiny note saying you were alive somewhere? Or were you too busy with whatever you were doing to remember that there are people over here who care about you and were worried _sick_ because literally _anything _could've happened to you out there?' I blinked rapidly against the tears that had started welling up. 'Merlin, Rose, I checked the _Daily Prophet _every day for news about you, and all it ever said was that you were still missing! Do you know what that… that waiting does to someone?' I wanted to look her straight in the eyes, but she kept her face averted.

Rose was silent for a long time. She appeared smaller than before, her head bowed down and her legs close to her chest. Eventually she said, in a broken voice, 'I know. I know, and I'm so, so sorry for everything. I never meant for things to go like that, I didn't –'

'But they did. And you're not even telling me why.'

'I can't. Not really.' When I looked away in annoyance, she quickly said, 'It's to protect Lissa. That's why we left and why I can't tell you. Otherwise, I would, but…' She shook her head.

_At least this means the pregnancy story was probably not true_. Although I kept my expression disinterested, my curiosity got the better of me. 'So it was because Lissa was in danger?'

Rose glanced around, closed the curtains and moved closer to me. 'Yes.'

'But Hogwarts is supposed to be the safest place in Britain.' I spoke so softly I almost mouthed the words. 'Surely being here is safer than wherever you were? Especially now there's Aurors guarding the school.'

She shook her head.

'Why not?'

'I can't tell you.' She groaned and ran a hand through her thick, dark hair. 'I would, if I could. I just don't know enough about it yet and before I know what's going on, I shouldn't get you involved. That's part of why I didn't write. I didn't want anyone to think you knew what we were doing and try to use you for information.'

'I would've taken that risk, if it meant knowing you were all right,' I said. I was almost offended that she thought that would stop me.

A wry smile played across Rose's lips. 'I know. That's why I'd never ask. I was putting Lissa in enough danger as it was, I wasn't going to make that even worse.' She looked up at me. In the dark her eyes seemed jet black. 'Maybe I should've, I don't know. I just didn't want you to get into trouble because of me.'

'I… don't agree with what you're saying, but I understand,' I said after a long pause. 'I probably would've done the same. Well, if I were to run away and hide from the government and became a completely different person.'

'One day, you might just surprise us all.' She held out her arms. 'Does this mean you've forgiven me?'

'It does,' I said, hugging her tightly. 'Even though you're completely crazy.'

'I missed you, Syd,' she said. 'And I'm really sorry about not writing you.'

I was about to break the embrace, but she kept her arms locked around me. 'I missed you, too. Please don't do anything like that again.'

She laughed and let go of me. 'I won't. At least, next time I'll do some more planning beforehand.'

_Of course. _'You are incorrigible.'

'Tell me about it.' She rolled her eyes and starting counting on her fingers. 'And irresponsible, reckless, suffering from megalomania… Kirova told me everything that was wrong with me.'

'And rightly so.'

She shrugged. 'Probably, yeah. She would've been worse if she hadn't been so glad that we were both still alive, I think. She did give me some credit for not dying. And Belikov did say that I had some good duelling skills, so not _everything _went badly. Just… most of it.' Grabbing some of my duvet, she moved into the lotus pose. Although part of me wanted to tell her that I needed to go to sleep (and that I did appreciate my personal space), I was too happy about our renewed friendship to kick her out.

'Belikov?' I asked.

'Dimitri Belikov. He's this Auror and everybody just worships him.' She took a deep breath through her teeth, informing me there was far more to come. 'He is… ridiculously good at duelling and only twenty-four and he practically the best Auror that's ever Aurored in the history of Auroring. Apparently, he thinks I have potential, so he's going to be tutoring me.' She brought her hands to her heart in an affected pose of flattery. Then she dropped them and adapted a flat, annoyed tone. 'He's the one who found us.'

'Found you where?'

'Some shitty youth hostel in Bristol. He and some other Aurors found us about a week ago, and then it was game over for Lissa and me. But hey.' She slapped a hand on my shoulder. 'Now I'm basically on probation, so I'm not allowed to do anything wrong. Who better to hang out with than our own new Prefect? Congrats on that, by the way. Not that I'm surprised.'

'That seems to be everybody's reaction,' I said. 'Kind of makes me wonder what would've happened if they hadn't made me Prefect?'

'I think there's a bigger chance of me not getting into trouble than of you even contemplating breaking a rule. Of course they'd make you Prefect. Who else knows the entirety of the _Rules and Regulations of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry _by heart? It's like you were made to become Prefect.'

I glared at her. 'I don't know it by heart.'

'Rule 461?'

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from replying, _Students are not allowed to use potions made in class on teachers, other students, themselves, or pets, unless permitted by the Potions teacher_. 'No idea.' _I was _not_ made to become a Prefect. Or a Head Girl, for that matter, or Alchemist. _

_Except_, I grimly reflected, _I sort of am, aren't I? That's what my father has been directing me towards since I was born, and doesn't that mean I was made to become that person? _

Now was not the right moment for those questions. 'Rose, I'm pretty tired. Is it okay if we continue tomorrow? Part of not getting into trouble is showing up for classes in time.'

'I know, I know. Where would I be if I didn't have you looking after me?' she said, jumping off my bed.

'Probably in Vegas. Shall we go down to breakfast together tomorrow morning?'

She scrunched up her face. 'Wish I could, but I have to meet with Belikov at seven to work on that potential of mine. Seven!' The way she said it made it clear that having classes at seven was more or less equal to eating live puppies.

'You'll survive,' I told her retreating back.

'If you say so.'

'Oh, for Merlin's sake!' Emma exclaimed. 'Could you _please _be quiet now? Thank you.'


	3. Detention

Rose had always been someone people either loved or hated, and her return had only intensified the drama that surrounded her. Some students, like Mason and Eddie, welcomed her back with open arms and acted like she had never left. Others eyed her and Lissa with admiration when they walked past in the halls. And then there were those who stared, whispered, laughed. Within hours a thousand different rumours spread through the school like wildfire: Lissa and Rose had eloped together because Rose's mother did not approve of their relationship. Rose had murdered someone and gone to jail and Lissa had been her accomplice. A rich Frenchman had invited both of them to spend some months in his castle. A rich Frenchman had abducted Lissa and Rose had gone to save her. Lissa had had a mental breakdown and spent months in St. Mungo's. According to some, that breakdown was caused by the rich Frenchman.

There was even one rumour involving a wealthy American, but no one took that seriously.

Rose ignored most of the rumours and managed to stay out of detention during the first week. Every time I woke up, she had already left for one of her extra classes with Dimtri Belikov. He was not only the one who had found Rose and Lissa, but was now also part of the Aurors who guarded Hogwarts. What Rose had forgotten to mention to me was that he was better-looking than people in positions of authority should be. Julia had already announced that she'd gladly risk an attack by some Death Eaters if that meant Belikov would save her.

When I wasn't doing my homework or helping Rose catch up on the classes she'd missed, I spent my time on my Prefect duties. Patrols with Ian went far better than I had expected them to, and I felt silly for ever being nervous about them. Even if I didn't _fancy _him, I still liked spending time with him; he understood my desire to perform well and we could always discuss academics together. And as long as he didn't try anything romantically, I could pretend he saw me as just a friend, too. His crush would soon fade. I hoped.

On Tuesday the following week, I made my way to detention. Not because I was in it, but because Professor Terwilliger had to be somewhere else and needed someone to substitute for her. She'd told me it wasn't difficult and that all I had to do was sit there and make sure none of them left the room or started making a mess, but I was still nervous. I'd never been in detention. How many people would be there? Would they just write out their lines or would they make trouble? And would they ever listen to me?

I was the first to make it to the room, so I just sat at the desk and sat there, staring out over an empty classroom. There were enough seats for about twenty people; would more than that show up?

The students who came in were a varied lot; mainly older students, although I also recognized a first-year Gryffindor. It surprised me that someone who'd only been at school for a week was already getting herself into trouble, but she sat down at one of the tables and started writing as if she was accustomed to the ritual. After a couple of minutes, half the seats in the classroom were filled and the room was silent save for the sound of quills scratching over the parchment.

_This isn't so difficult_, I thought as I got out my own essay. _They hardly even need me to keep order._ _And only 113 more minutes until I'm done, anyway. _

Another ten minutes later, the door opened again and some Hufflepuff stepped in. I'd seen him talking to Carly a couple of times, but I had no idea what his name was. Two things were clear, though: he had detention, and he was late.

I skimmed the instructions Professor Terwilliger had given me, but in her usual absent-minded fashion, she had forgotten to mention what I was supposed to do when students didn't make it to the classroom on time.

He seemed about as surprised to see me as I was to see him. 'What class you do give?' he said, his green eyes widening. ''Cause I'd like to sign up.'

One of the other students snorted and the blood crept to my face. 'I'm not a teacher, I'm just the supervisor for now. Could you, um, take a seat?'

To my surprise, he took the table in the middle of the front row that was almost touching the teacher's desk. While he got his stuff from his bag, I couldn't help but notice that he was very, _ very _pretty. His brown hair was tousled in a way that probably took him ages to create, framing a face with high, sharp cheekbones and a Roman nose. With his tall, lean built, he reminded me of Ancient Greek statues of Apollo. The only thing that was bothering me was that his Hufflepuff tie was knotted unevenly.

He caught me staring and smirked. Mortified, I turned back to my essay. He didn't have to think that I wasn't as professional a supervisor as any professor here at Hogwarts, or that I didn't have enough to do.

When I glanced up again, he was doodling something on his parchment, next to the two lines he'd written down. Once in a while I checked whether his essay had progressed, but the drawing was the only thing he seemed interested in. It took some time for me to understand what it was becoming, but then I saw it was a skeleton on a motorcycle. _Odd._

After adding something on the skeleton's shoulder, he turned the parchment around so I could see it the right way up. 'What do you think?' he said casually. 'I thought of making the parrot a ninja, but that seemed like overkill.'

'Did it now?' I pulled the drawing closer, fascinated despite the weird subject.

'Just a bit.' He leaned back in his chair, his hands folded behind his head. 'So, how did you end up supervising all of us poor evildoers?'

I noticed some of the other students were watching us, so I handed him back the drawing-with-essay. 'Professor Terwilliger asked me to. I really think you should just work on your essay.'

'I would, if I had anything to write. You don't happen to know anything about the different attitudes Wizards have had towards goblins through the Middle Ages?' He didn't sound very hopeful, but then he didn't seemed like he cared much, either.

Was I supposed to help students during these two hours? 'I do, actually.'

He raised his eyebrows, and then something seemed to dawn on him. 'Wait. Aren't you Carly's little sister?'

'Yes, I am.' I hesitated, but then I extended my hand over the two tables. 'Sydney Sage.'

'Adrian,' he said. 'So, Miss Sage, would you care to help me with my essay?'

'I don't know. Are we allowed to… I mean, I don't think we're supposed to talk.' As I said it, I realized how silly I sounded, seeing as I'd just had a conversation with him. 'It would distract the others.'

He grinned. 'Never been in detention before, have you, Sage?' Then he craned his neck and called to the others, 'Would anyone care if Sage here helped me out a bit?'

'As long as it _stays _at doing your essay,' some sixth year said. 'Otherwise you can find your own room for detention, Ivashkov.'

His name now rang a bell. Carly had sometimes mentioned Adrian Ivashkov: charismatic, heart of every party, and sometimes a bit crazy. I could see where she was coming from with that description.

With a _thump_ the front to legs of Adrian's chair landed on the floor as he turned back to me. 'Done.'

I hadn't expected it to go that easily. 'Oh. Okay. Um… Why don't you come sit over here, and then I'll tell you about the most important waves of goblin acceptance.' I conjured a chair and got some new parchment while Adrian moved over.

We kept our voices to low whispers while I made a timeline, wrote down the outlines of the main goblin organizations, and suggested further reading. I wasn't always sure if he was paying attention, but once in a while he asked a question that was relevant to what we were doing, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. His insight into some of the matters surprised me, as did his compassion for the goblins. I'd never even thought about whether the Wizards' treatment of them was just; I'd always just assumed my father was right about those things.

'I guess you couldn't just write the essay for me?' he said as he read through the notes.

I gave him a stern look. 'Of course not! I'll help you, but how are you supposed to learn if you don't do the actual work yourself?'

His mouth twitched. 'You are completely right. It was foolish of me even to suggest something outrageous like that.'

'Yes.' I knew he was mocking me, but I'd meant what I said. 'Anyway, do you think you have enough to at least make a start on your essay now?'

'I don't think I've ever had better notes than this,' he said. 'Terwilliger is going to be amazed. Thanks.'

The room was silent again for another thirty minutes, until I saw the two hours were over and said they could all go. Most students were quick to get out, but it took Adrian ages to put all his stuff away. By the time he'd finished, everyone else was gone.

'So are you going to be supervising detention more often?' he said, leaning against the teacher's desk.

'I don't think so, unless Terwilliger needs me to substitute for her again.'

His green eyes shone. 'You should let me know when Jackie can't make it. I'll get myself in trouble.'

It took me a moment to realize what he meant by that. 'Oh, you shouldn't! If you need help with your essays, we could just do that in the library or a Common Room or something. I wasn't just helping you because I was in detention anyway, I quite like explaining things.'

'I really appreciate that,' he said, grinning. 'You know, Sage? You're okay. For a Prefect.'

I blinked. 'Thanks.'

He waited for a moment. Then he said, 'You can say it too, you know.'

'Say what?' I tried to focus on his face, but my eyes kept drifting off to his tie. My hands were itching to straighten it.

'That I'm okay… for a troublemaker.'

This time I did look him in the eyes. 'You'll have a hard time getting any Prefect to admit that. But I can say you're okay for an irreverent party boy with occasional moments of brilliance.' Self-conscious, I brushed a lock of blonde hair from my face. I could hardly believe I'd said that, but something about him made me want to look interesting.

It seemed it had worked. 'Brilliant?' he said, cocking his head. 'You think I'm brilliant? You hear that, world? Sage says I'm brilliant.'

Although there was no one to hear him, I still felt embarrassed. 'That's not what I said!'

'Thanks for the ego boost.' He slung his bag over his shoulder. 'I'm going to tell Jackie and Carly all about your high opinion. See you later, Sage.'


	4. Proposals

Stanton looks around the circle of Prefects, her quill poised over a piece of parchment. 'Does anyone else have anything to say?'

Usually, everybody was silent at this point. Some Prefects were already picking up their bags, but they froze when Mia spoke up. 'I do, actually.'

For an instant, Stanton raised her eyebrows in surprise, but then she regained her usual unreadable expression. 'Do share, Miss Rinaldi.'

'I was thinking that it might be an idea if we offered some extra defence classes,' Mia said. 'Maybe they can focus on different aspects of magical defence, based on the… the current situation, instead of just information to pass our exams. A more practical approach, so to say.'

Stanton folded her hands together while her quill raced over the parchment. 'What kind of things do you suggest they would teach? I personally think Professor Wolfe seems like a more than capable teacher, even in the "current situation."'

Malachi Wolfe was this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and although he frightened most of the students, there was no denying that his lessons contained a lot of practical information.

'Yes, of course he is,' said Mia, 'but it might still be useful to pay attention to other kinds of defence. Like, he has told us lots about how to recognize Death Eaters and how to steer clear of dangerous situations, but what if they just happen? Or what if you lose your wand and need to use physical force?' Colour rose to her cheeks as she spoke. 'We all heard about the attack in Worcester. Those people there probably knew about the same things we do now, and it didn't save them. It's not like only Aurors need to be able to defend themselves – every moment we're outside of Hogwarts, we're in danger!' Things like the attacks in Worcester, which had happened a couple of days ago, should not be allowed to happen. My stomach still clenched whenever I thought of the photograph they had printed next to the news article: a woman, with her back to the camera, stumbling towards a destroyed house. Even though her face was invisible, there was no mistaking the despair she felt.

'Someone is being a bit dramatic, don't you think?' Ian said from his seat next to Mia. 'They're not just randomly going to attack people. They go for people with power – we're all just students.'

'I don't know about that.' Eddie leaned forward, more alert now than he had been during the entire meeting. 'Those people in Worcester weren't powerful, either. They were just there. Lots of them weren't even Wizards.'

'Exactly,' said Mia. 'Dashkov is a tyrant, he wants to instil fear in our community. Attacking random, defenceless people is clearly part of his strategy, and I think that a few extra classes on self-defence might just make a difference.' She brought down her hand with every word. I'd never seen her this passionate anything, but then**,** I didn't know her very well. In fairness, the idea sounded like a good plan to me.

Ian seemed to think differently. 'What, suddenly those third-years will beat Death Eaters?'

'Yes! Or it might just buy them enough time for help to arrive or to get out. If they know how to throw a punch, they'll already catch their opponents off guard. They don't have to know amazing ninja skills, just enough to help them a bit.' She crossed her arms, challenging us with her blue eyes. 'I, for one, would love to know more about Muggle ways of defence.'

'Yeah, you, _for one_.' Ian smirked at Keith, who grinned back. 'Rinaldi, I don't know if you've been paying attention, but most people here barely do their schoolwork as it is. Do you really think _anyone_ is going to be interested in getting even more classes?'

She replied immediately. 'Yes.'

'Then you're delusional, sweetie,' said Keith. 'Ian is right, there would be next to no one attending.'

She glared at him. 'Don't call me sweetie. And why don't we just hang some lists in the Common Rooms to see if anyone's up for it, and then based on that we organise something? I'll write out the notices and all that.'

Keith leaned back in his chair, his lip curled up in insufferable smugness. 'Well, if you want to do all that by yourself, who are we to stop you? Just don't be disappointed when it turns out that the students of Hogwarts consider themselves save enough already.'

That made the decision for me. Turning towards Mia, I said, 'I'll help you, if you want. Do you think Wolfe should teach those classes, too, or did you have someone else in mind?'

'I do think he mentioned getting into a fist-fight with a snowman once,' said Trey Juarez, our year's Hufflepuff Prefect. 'And otherwise I know a couple of things about where to hit and how to dodge, so I could do some introductory things, if you need me to.'

Mia's face lit up. 'That would be great. Thanks.'

'All right, so now that that's been arranged: does anyone else have anything to say?' said Keith. He look around the room, but no one said anything. 'Then I say that this Prefect meeting is over, and we hope to see you all next week.'

The room filled with chatter as we packed up. I saw Ian moving towards me, but Mia beat him, appearing by my side before I'd even closed my bag.

'Thanks for helping me.' She ran a hand through her blonde curls and glanced at Keith. Her mouth tightened. However, when she turned back to me, she was smiling. 'Shall I write a notice tonight, and then tomorrow we hang them in the Common Rooms?'

'Yes, okay. I have Defence tomorrow – shall I ask Wolfe if he would consider helping out?' We started leaving the classroom together, and Ian joined us in the corridor.

'I really do think it's a good idea,' I said to Mia. 'How many people would have to sign up before we're actually going through with it, though? Fifteen or something?'

She shrugged. 'I guess we'll have to ask Wolfe when he'll be interested. Even if only two other people show up, I think I'd just organise something by myself. There must be some books on self-defence, even if we can't find a professional teacher.'

'You really shouldn't worry,' Ian said. 'Hogwarts is the safest place in the world; nothing is going to happen to you while you're here.'

Mia stared straight ahead as she answered. 'Yeah, but I won't always be here, will I? Or do you think Dashkov is going to have a Christmas break, just like we are?'

'Then the Ministry will protect us,' he said confidently.

'The Ministry isn't always there, not in time!' She turned on him. Despite her petite size and childlike face, she was intimidating, her eyes flashing with determination. 'What if they come to my house, or yours? Are you just going to stand there and wait for others to come and rescue you?'

'I have complete faith in the Ministry's protection guides. And please lower your voice,' he added. 'People are watching. I just think you're making a far too big deal out of this, don't you, Sydney?'

A part of me wanted to tell him that he already knew I agreed with Mia; he'd been _there _when I told her. 'I think there is no harm in being able to look after yourself, and of course, more knowledge can never hurt. If some students are up for it, why shouldn't they have the opportunity to improve their skills?'

Ian didn't seem satisfied by my answer, but he didn't argue, either. We walked in silence to the Great Hall, until he suddenly stopped and bent over. 'Oh, looks like my laces are untied,' he said. 'Sydney, could you wait for me for a bit?'

Mia lowered her eyes to his shoes and then she smirked. 'Well, guess _I'll_ be off then. Let me know what Wolfe says, okay?' With those words, she entered the Great Hall and left me to Ian's subtlety. Glancing down, I noticed his shoelaces were fine.

Once Mia had left, Ian straightened up and brushed some invisible creases from his robe. 'So, anyway. Sydney.' He leaned against the wall in what I gathered was a 'nonchalant' pose. 'You know the date for the first Hogsmeade trip is in three weeks, right?'

Even I knew where this was going. My stomach squirmed with unpleasant anticipation. 'Yes, it is.'

'I was wondering if maybe the two of us could go together,' he said. The redness of his cheeks completely undermined his attempt at casualness. 'Maybe go for a coffee or something?'

'Oh, Ian, I, erm…' I didn't meet his eyes, but stared at a piece of wall next to his face. _What am I supposed to say now? _'That sounds really nice, but I've already got plans.'

He blinked. 'Already?'

'Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sure there's more than enough other girls who'd love to go with you, though.' Somehow, I doubted this was what I was supposed to say in this situation, but what _did _people say when rejecting someone? Was there a not-awkward way of doing this? 'I should probably… go inside.' I pointed at the open doors. 'Have dinner and all that.'

He nodded, frowning. He looked strangely confused. 'Yes, of course.'

'Have a nice evening.' Before I said anything to embarrass myself, I hurried inside and to the Gryffindor table. To my relief, Rose was sitting at the end, and I joined her.

'You look like someone just told you ironed clothes are from now on outlawed,' she said after casting one look at my face. 'Anything wrong?'

'No.' I took some salad, feeling Rose's eyes on me. 'Maybe.'

'You can still iron and press your clothes, if that's what you're worried about,' she said, popping some chips in her mouth. 'But if it's something else... Do feel free to share. Maybe I have some wisdom for you. Unless it's about Transfiguration, in which case: I don't know, either.'

I took a bite of my salad, wondering how I was going to phrase this. 'I think Ian just asked me out on a date.' My cheeks became hot just from thinking about it, and the fact that Rose's jaw dropped didn't help the matter.

'He _did?_'

I stared at my plate. 'Yes. Well, he asked if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him to have a coffee. I think that means he asked me out on a date.'

She slapped me on the back. 'That's great! The two of you would be so… smart together. And he seems really clever and like someone who likes the rules and stuff. Plus, he's sort of cute.' She rested her forearms on the table and angled her neck so she could look me in the face. I hadn't seen her grin that broadly since she'd returned. 'So, are you excited?'

I fidgeted with my fork. 'I may have said no.'

'What?'

I leaned backwards, and she returned to her upright position. 'I just… I don't know. I told him I already had plans. I think that means I rejected him.'

She cocked her head. 'But why? I thought you liked him?'

'I do, but only as a friend. I wouldn't want him to think… It's just that when I look at him, I never feel that warm, fuzzy feeling people always talk about.' For some reason I felt the need to justify my choice. 'I don't want to lead him on.'

'I guess that happens,' Rose said. Then she nodded. 'Good.'

Now I was the one who was surprised. 'Why is that good?'

'Ian bores me. I mean, I know you're super smart and he's probably interesting if you know what he's talking about, but I feel like you could get better than him.' She shook her dark hair from her face. 'And who asks someone out three weeks in advance, anyway? That's a tad overeager.'

'He probably wanted to make sure nothing interfered with his planning,' I said. 'I don't think he does anything without arranging it at least two weeks in advance.'

'All the more reason why you shouldn't start dating him,' she stated in a voice that allowed no contradiction. 'I want to bet your love life would just be these dates on a calendar instead of passionate meetings in forbidden places. You'd get bored with him like _this_.' She snapped her fingers.

I laughed. 'I'm sure you're right. How've you been? Broken any hearts today?'

'Only my own when I realized how much homework I still have to do. But then, the night is still young…'


	5. Carly

**Don't know if this deserve a Trigger Warning, but there's a (vague) discussion of rape further on in the chapter. **

* * *

Despite having sisters in two other houses, I'd never seen any Common Rooms but the Gryffindor one. I didn't even know where the entrances were exactly, except that the one to Slytherin was in the dungeons and the one to Hufflepuff was somewhere along this corridor. I'd been waiting here for a couple of minutes already, hoping a Hufflepuff would pass by, but no such luck. For lack of anything better to do, I reread the letter I'd written to my father, in which I gave him a 'report' of what had happened at Hogwarts. It was not much. That was usually the conclusion, but my father insisted I practiced writing down minutiae for when I started working at the Department of Mysteries and the smallest change might be significant.

I heard the echoing footsteps before I saw who was approaching. A flurry of nerves went through me when I realized it was Adrian Ivashkov, looking deep in thought as he took a drag of his cigarette. He was almost walking past me before he noticed me.

'Miss Sage,' he said. 'Shouldn't you be in detention?'

'No, I behaved today.' I looked at his cigarette. 'And I see you aren't. Smoking on school grounds is prohibited.'

Sighing, he threw the cigarette stump on the floor and Vanished it with a flick of his wand. 'You are completely right. How horrible of me to break those rules. Does this mean you'll give me detention?' He leaned against the stone wall. 'I'll go if you do.'

'I won't tell,' I said.

He placed a hand over his heart, shaking his head. 'Have I corrupted you thus already?'

'No, it's because, um… Because.' Not the best argument I'd ever given, but something in his smile made me very self-conscious. 'How did Professor Terwilliger like your essay, by the way?'

'Oh, she loved it. Especially the bits where I quoted you. She'd circled it with red and wrote that you were "indeed a very reliable source".' He shrugged. 'But then, that was before you became such a criminal. I'm sure now she'd tell me to stay away from you, lest my innocence be tarnished like yours.'

I let out an incredulous short laugh. 'You quoted me? As in, with my name and everything?'

'Well, you _were _my source for basically everything; it made sense for you to get some credit, right?'

'Thank you,' I said, a warmth spreading through me. For a couple of seconds, I just smiled at him, until I remembered why I was in this corridor in the first place. 'I was wondering, could you do something for me?'

'Does it involve drinks or flirting?' he said earnestly.

'I guess it could, if you wanted to.' This seemed to spark his interest, but my request was probably not as exciting as he'd hoped. 'Could you check the Common Room to see if Carly's in there? I'd quite like to see her.'

'My plan involved the two of us and maybe working on some more essays, but I suppose we could always do that afterwards? Or,' he added, 'if you're feeling really wild, we might even do something not school-related?'

I held up my letter. 'I can't, I need to post this and then do my own homework. Some other time, maybe?'

'I might take you up on that, Sage.' He started to walk away, but then he stopped and swivelled around, facing me again. 'Should I wish you "good luck" or "fun" with your homework?'

'"Fun" is probably the one you want,' I said.

He grimaced. 'You frighten me. I'll just go and see if Carly's in.'

While he went to his Common Room, I waited in the same spot, allowing the Hufflepuffs the privacy of their secret location. Silly though it was, I kept thinking about how he'd quoted me, by name, in his essay. I wasn't exactly a renowned scholar, but it had to be amazing, having your work inspire people to come up with their own ideas.

Soon after, my sister Carly showed up, her blonde hair dancing around her heart shaped face. 'Let me tell you, when Adrian came up to me and told me you had sent him to get me, I was a bit surprised,' she said, pulling me into a hug.

'Believe it or not, we met in detention.'

She gave me a side eye. 'He did say something about corrupting your innocence.'

'Don't worry, I didn't suddenly do something interesting. I'm still the same Sydney as ever. Shall we go outside for a bit?' A glance at the window told me the sky was grey, but it wasn't raining.

While Carly and I made our way to the front gate, we caught up on what had happened this school year. I hadn't seen her since Platform 9 ¾, and as a general rule, her life was more exciting than mine. She filled me in on the crazy things some of her friends had done and the pressure teachers were already placing on them to do well in their exams. That was something I recognized; all my teachers were constantly reminding us of our approaching O.W.L.s and the fact that if we failed them, the rest of our lives were doomed to failure.

'Have you heard anything from Mum?' I asked as we stepped outside.

'Yeah, she wrote me last week. Apparently Cicero caught a squirrel the other day and brought it to them while they were eating.' Carly shuddered. 'And things are crazy at the Ministry, but that's hardly news.' She hesitated for a moment. 'Has Dad written to you?'

'Not really. A short note – more like a memo – to let me know he'd got my report.' Our pace slowed, and we sat down in the grass. 'And apparently he wants me to look into a couple of things, like how vampires can subsist on human blood, and then to report back on that.'

Carly's hand shot to her neck, her expression uncomfortable. 'Vampires?'

'I don't know why. Vampires, the philosopher's stone, and a gift for Mum's birthday.' I ticked them off on my fingers. 'Speaking of which, do you have any ideas? Because I saw this book - '

She rolled her eyes.

'No, I mean, this book on brooms. It looked really nice, it had pictures of seventeenth century models and strange American ones – did you know there was this an American who had her broom _gilded? _And on the cover there's this beautiful '40s Comet…' I noticed Carly wasn't very interested, and reined in my enthusiasm. 'Or we could get her something else.'

'No, you should get her that book,' she said. 'I'll have a look around Hogsmeade. Maybe I'll do something with Zoe…'

For a while, we didn't say anything, tension growing between us. I kept trying to think of light-hearted topics of conversation, but really, there was no point. I could tell from Carly's refusal to look at me that she had the same thing on her mind as I did. My stomach clenched and unclenched as I thought of what had happened, and I didn't know whether it was because of anger or sadness.

At some point, though, I knew I just had to go and start this conversation. 'So… how are you?'

She pulled some grass from the blades of grass from the ground. 'I'm fine.'

'Really? Because if you aren't, you can tell me,' I said.

She shrugged and kept her gaze firmly on the ground. 'Yeah.'

I wondered if maybe I should touch her arm or hug her or something, to comfort her. Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. Maybe I should've waited for her to start this conversation. I recalled some of the advice I'd read for friends: be there, support them, don't judge. 'Carly, you know that if you ever need anything…'

She nodded. 'I know, yeah. I just… I'd rather not talk about it, okay?' Another long silence fell. Carly bit her lip, blinking furiously. 'It's just that now I see him walking through the halls and in classes…' Her voice shot up an octave and she clenched her hands into fists. 'I just…'

As I rubbed Carly's back, I tried to keep in my rage. There was no point in being angry with Keith now – I should focus on Carly and making sure she was all right first. 'We could always report it to someone…'

'You know the statistics,' she said in a dead voice. 'And what would they do? It'd be my word against his. And we had gone on a date together. People would just say I was…' She shrugged again. 'What's the point?'

The point would be that maybe one person would think twice before she agreed to go on a date with Keith. I'd tentatively raised this when she'd first told me, but Carly didn't want the public scrutiny, and in the end it was her decision to make. She'd hated the idea of him getting away with it unscathed… but then I'd made sure he didn't.

'I was so glad when I heard he'd lost an eye,' she whispered, like she'd heard my thoughts. 'He got what he deserved, the filthy, horrible…' She cut herself off and wiped at her cheeks. 'One day, I'm going to make him pay for it. But right now I just want to… I don't want this to control every aspect of my life, okay?' Taking a deep breath, she smiled at me. It was a shaky smile that did not reach her glassy eyes, but a smile nonetheless. 'I really appreciate your concern, but next time, shall we not talk about it?'

'Yeah,' I said, taken aback by the sudden change. I wondered if I'd actually achieved anything with this conversation except making Carly cry. 'Unless you want to, of course. I won't bring it up again, if that's...'

'Okay, thanks.'

Something in her tone made me feel chastised. _Maybe I should leave her alone for a bit_, I thought, getting up.

Carly saw my movement and put her arms around me. She kissed the top of my head and said into my hair, 'I really do appreciate you caring, Syd. Really. But let's focus on happy things, okay?' She let me go, running a hand through her hair. 'Maybe you could help me trying to come up with an internship for this summer?' Her voice still sounded a bit _too _breezy for Carly to be completely calmed down, but the subject did interest me. Since I was going to be the Alchemist in the family, Carly could choose her own career, and it always excited me to hear what she was planning.

'Didn't you want to do something with International Magical Cooperation?'I said, thinking of the folders that had been scattered around her room during the summer.

'Yes, but then there's still lots I could be doing; do I want to do more with the languages, or should I try to find something that has to do with clashing cultures… I mean, if I go to Egypt, I might even fly on a Flying Carpet.' She held up both her hands, as if to say, 'Who knows?'

The image of Carly on a Flying Carpet brought a genuine smile to my face. '_Could_ you get an internship abroad?'

'I should think so, yeah. My French is pretty good, and my Arabic is rusty, but I could work on it…' She frowned. 'No, maybe my Arabic is _too _rusty. But as long as they speak English or French, I should be okay. Of course, Dad probably wants me to do something with international banking…' For a millisecond she seemed bothered, but then she relaxed. 'But whatever, sod him. I'll do my carpet-y flying and I'll be out of the house anyway, so he can't stop me then.'

'Sounds like you're going to be a responsible adult,' I said.

'Of course. And otherwise you can always move in with me and make sure I feed myself properly. You know.' She nudged me. 'If Alchemy doesn't work out for you.'

I snorted at the notion. 'Thanks, but I doubt that'll be necessary.'

'I'm just saying: if you ever need to escape to a warm place where we can comfortable eat things while soaring through the air… You'll know where to find me.'

* * *

**A/N: I'm not really happy with this chapter (writing it got me down, hence my attempt at a slightly-less-downer ending), but having Carly as a character in this story means dealing with this issue, so yeah. Advice is very much appreciated & the next chapter should be lighter.**


	6. Self Defense

To everyone's surprise, there was a fair number of people interested in extra defence classes. Gryffindor had about ten people, most of them sixth or seventh years. The announcement I'd hung on the notice board hadn't mentioned who was going to teach it, which in hindsight turned out to be a good thing, since Professor Wolfe was apparently unavailable. When I'd asked him, he said he'd love to, but he couldn't leave his Chihuahuas for too long. Last time he'd left them unattended for longer than they were used to, they'd bitten through the walls of his kitchen and into his neighbour's house, or so Professor Wolfe told me. However, when I told Mia about this, she wasn't fazed, saying she already had some other people in mind for the job.

The first meeting was planned for a Thursday evening at eight. I arrived a couple of minutes early to a classroom in which all the chairs and tables had been moved to the side. Sitting on the edge of one of those tables was Mia, who looked like she was about to strain her neck from looking up into the face of Dimitri Belikov.

With his absurd height, broad shoulders and a leather duster that seemed out of place amongst the robes in Hogwarts, Dimitri Belikov was impossible to miss. Still, seeing him up close made me realize that this was a man Death Eaters had nightmares about. When he turned around to look at me, though, his face was relaxed and open.

'This is Sydney Sage,' said Mia, who jumped off the table. She was actually shorter now that she was standing, just coming up to Auror Belikov's elbow. 'She's the Gryffindor Prefect. Sydney, this is Auror Dimitri Belikov; he offered to teach us.'

'That's brilliant,' I said, as I shook his hand. 'Rose has told me lots about what a great teacher you are.'

He raised his eyebrows. 'Has she?' he said, with the slightest hint of a Russian accent. 'Rose Hathaway?'

I nodded. Of course, her praise had been accompanied by curse-heavy complaints about how he was working her to death and the constant question whether he was even human, but it seemed best not to mention that.

Something in his eyes told me he knew nevertheless. 'That's not always how she responds to running laps around the castle.'

'If Rose Hathaway is willing to get up early for you, you're probably pretty good,' I said. 'Most teachers wished she'd work on their classes in the morning.' I noticed that underneath his duster he was wearing a dark grey jumper and jeans: clothes that would be easier to move in than floor-length Hogwarts robes. 'So, what does your plan look like? Lots of running around?'

'No, although working on that would be a good idea, if people want to join Rose in her laps. These classes are mainly to improve people's chances of survival, and running away could be the smart answer, especially for students who won't be as magically capable as their opponents. I will spend some time on escape techniques, but that will be to help people assess the situation they're in, find the quickest exist, get out of an opponent's hold, et cetera. Very little actual running, at least in these classes.' While he spoke, two other students came in, and soon there was a group of people in the middle of the classroom. I was surprised to find Carly among them, along with two friends of hers, and Christian Ozera was another figure I had not been expecting; his name hadn't been on the list I'd given to Mia. However, the biggest surprise came about two minutes into Auror Belikov's introductory talk, when Rose barged in through the door.

'Sorry, I thought this wouldn't start until - ' For the blink of an eye, she froze. Then she closed the door behind her and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 'Since when are you doing this? I thought Wolfe was supposed to be the teacher?'

'_Professor _Wolfe couldn't make it,' Auror Belikov said.

'Does this mean more running around?' Her hand found the doorknob, but she was smiling. 'Because if that's the case, Comrade, I'm going to have to warn all these people that their muscles are going to regret coming here tomorrow morning.'

'It's nice to know you care so much about their wellbeing.' He gestured at the group. 'You can show your concern by sitting down and being silent. And no,' he added, when she didn't move, 'There won't be any running.'

Smirking, Rose sat down next to Mason and Auror Belikov continued his talk. Once in a while he drew scenarios on the blackboard, showing us different ways of jumping from great heights and how to evacuate people as quickly as possible. After about thirty minutes in which he had the class's full attention, he asked Rose to volunteer, since he was about to show us how to escape from an opponent's grasp. While Auror Belikov held Rose in a chokehold and she performed the moves to escape, a girl behind me whispered to her friend, 'Think I could volunteer next week?'

'Not if I beat you to it,' her friend said back.

I doubted either of them would oust Rose from her position, though. Even without Auror Belikov's instructions, she moved at the right speed and angle, giving us a good view of what we were supposed to do. She even refrained from making snarky comments. In short, I didn't think I'd ever seen Rose behave like a better student.

'I suggest we spend the last part of the class practicing this move,' Auror Belikov said. 'If you could all find a partner and take turns being the assailant and the victim.'

'And then he, or his _lovely _assistant - ' Rose held up her arms in a display of elegance, ' – will help you out if you have any difficulties.'

'Merlin help us,' Mason said. 'You in a position of power?'

'I'm just practicing for my eventual world domination.' She skipped over to him. 'Now let's see if you've been paying attention, shall we?' Quick as a snake, she advanced on Mason and pressed her arm against his throat. Laughing, he tried to shake her off, but she wouldn't budge.

'Come on, Mase. I saw you watching – you should know what to do.'

'I know what to do when a tall Russian guy is attacking me,' he said, placing his hands on her forearm and his foot behind her. As he escaped her grasp, he added, 'But if that's what I should do when beautiful women hold me…'

I noticed that while I'd been staring at their little exchange, most of the other students had found their partners. Carly was with one of her friends, and Mia was already trying to attack the much taller Eddie. I didn't really know anyone else well enough to just ask them, so when Christian Ozera made eye contact and raised his eyebrows, I nodded. If he did lose his mind during this class, which I doubted, at least there would be enough people around to save me.

'I should've known you wouldn't skip an opportunity to have even more classes,' he said, shaking his head. 'Have you done anything fun this school year?'

'Well, I'm about to choke you, so I guess the good times are about to start.' His words stung more than they should have. I _had _done fun things this year. I'd read some very good books, and I'd hung out with Rose. That counted as fun.

'Nothing like attempted murder to start the party season.' He turned his back to me, and I noticed how much taller than me he was. To get my arms around his neck, I had to stand on my tiptoes. He probably could've shrugged me off right then, but he followed the example Auror Belikov had set, until he had floored me.

'I think kidnapping might not be the career path for you,' he said, holding out a hand to help me up.

'Damn, there went my dreams.' As soon as I was standing, I said, 'Let me try again.'

It took a couple more tries of me as an assailant before we switched and I suddenly found my throat constricted by Christian's arm. My instinct reaction was to tug at his elbow, but I repressed it, trying to remember what Dimitri had told us: change your leverage position, force him backwards. It had seemed a lot easier when Rose did it, but that only reminded me of why it was important to practice. If I ever needed to escape like this, people were going to be a lot less calm than Christian was now; if I couldn't even fight him, I'd have no chance in a real-life situation.

I'd expected Christian to be flippant about this exercise – no, scratch that. I had expected Christian to never show up to something like this. But he took it as seriously as I did and he made for a good partner. After a while, I found I wasn't nervous about him standing behind me anymore, which meant I also wasn't as hesitant about putting some force behind my 'escape'.

'Okay, everybody!' Mia was standing in front of the blackboard, with red cheeks and her blonde curls messy. She looked very pleased with herself. 'I think this was long enough for today, but we'll be meeting here again next week, same time. Do feel free to take some of your friends along. And, before you all leave, I would like a small applause for Auror Belikov and the fantastic class he just gave us.'

Auror Belikov shook his head at the applause, but he was grinning nevertheless. Soon after, the room started emptying, while Auror Belikov and Mia flew the tables back to their original position.

'Think you'll be coming again next week?' Christian said.

I rolled my shoulders, feeling the muscles stretch. 'I think so, yes. I really enjoyed this. You?'

'Probably. Being able to defend myself against crazy people can never hurt, especially now that Rose is back.'

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. 'Rose is lovely.'

'As lovely as a murderous fairy tale princess,' he said.

'You say that like it's a bad thing.'

He shrugged. 'Not worse than being a murderous Prefect, I guess. But now I know I could take you if you ever tried anything funny.'

'I thought we'd established I didn't have any fun, ever?'

'That's true.' He cocked his head, his blue eyes speculative. 'Do you have any plans for the Hogsmeade weekend?'

My jaw dropped as I remembered the last person who'd asked me about this. It couldn't be that after Ian, Christian Ozera was now…? 'Are you asking me out on a date or suggesting I attempt to murder you?' I said, trying not to show my confusion. Christian Ozera? Really? I doubted I could get any further removed from boys my father would deem eligible, let alone acceptable…

He threw back his head and laughed. 'Merlin, no. I just thought that if all you were going to do was visit the bookstore, maybe you'd like to see some other part of Hogsmeade as well. No romantic or suicidal intentions whatsoever.'

'Okay…' I still wasn't entirely sure about this, though. 'What exactly do you mean by "other parts of Hogsmeade"? Are you going to show me your lair and sacrifice me along with some chickens?'

'Yes, but first I might show you the fun of watching the things other people get up to when they're not at school. I've overheard the most beautiful declarations of love in the Three Broomsticks. And I want to bet you've never been to Zonko's.'

'You'd win that bet. Okay, fine. Creepy listening in on other people and toy stores it is.' I spotted Rose in the doorway, and she gestured for me to join her. 'I guess I'll see you again sometime before then. Um, have a good night.'

I headed over to Rose, whose raised eyebrows were a clear sign I was going to have some explaining to do.

'I saw you and Ozera were having fun together?' she said.

'No, because I don't have fun yet. But I will.' Of course, this did nothing to clear up her confusion, so I added, 'He and I are going to Hogsmeade together. In a not-date-y way.'

That stopped her in her tracks. Not looking at me, she pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Sydney.'

'Rose?'

'You are _not _going on a date with Christian Ozera.'

'No, I'm not. It's just as…' I couldn't exactly say we were going as friends, what with us not actually being friends. 'I don't know. I guess he needs someone to go with and since we're both not basking in popularity it makes sense? And I did tell Ian I already had plans – now I have them…'

'Bloody hell, Syd.' She rubbed her eyes with her hands and then looked at me, disbelief written over her face. 'You think he wasn't asking you out on a date?'

'Yes!' Her incredulity annoyed me, and I crossed my arms defensively. 'I really doubt Christian is the kind of person to be subtle about something like this. If he wanted to ask me out, he would've. But he explicitly made clear that it wasn't anything romantic, so…'

'Well, yeah, of course he'd say that, otherwise you'd never go!' She let out a deep breath. 'Listen, I get that this is all strange and new to you, but…'

'He didn't…' But then, Rose did have more experience in things like this. I just couldn't imagine Christian Ozera asking me out on a date; I couldn't imagine him dating anyone, and for someone who was always so direct, being vague about this just seemed odd. 'I don't see this as a date, he said he didn't see it as a date, so I'm just going to assume it isn't one. And I can look after myself now – if he tries to strangle me, I've got it covered.'

That brought a small smile to her face. 'Just stay in public places, okay?'

I wondered what she thought Christian would do to me, but then I remembered Carly had gone on a date with someone who'd been a lot more trustworthy than him, and that hadn't turned out pretty either. 'Yeah, I will.'

'You're probably right about him being direct enough to just ask you on a date,' she said, as she started walking again. 'Which is good, because you're far too good for the likes of him.'

'Are you going to say that about every boy who "asks me out"?'

She put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. 'Only until I come across one who's worth the effort. Oh, speaking of guys and effort, you're not the only one who said yes to a very inappropriate person, except this one did actually ask me out. He even made me some indecent proposals.' She glanced over her shoulder, and for a moment I had the weird idea she was going to say it was Auror Belikov who'd asked her.

'Who's the lucky guy?' I said.

'I don't know if you know him – Adrian Ivashkov? He's this Hufflepuff. Quite hot, if crazy at times.'

I blinked, hoping my surprise didn't register on my face. 'Adrian? I… yeah, I know him. He had detention while I was supervising.'

'Why doesn't that surprise me?' She laughed, nudging me. 'I'm sure you're going to lecture me on how I shouldn't go for rule breakers, but should find myself a respectable young lad who obeys the law?'

'No, not at all. Adrian seemed really nice. I don't know him that well.' I tried to picture him and Rose together and had to admit, they'd make a very good-looking couple. Coupled with their mutual charisma and craziness… Still, I recalled the playfulness with which she'd treated Mason. 'So you're not going out with Mason, then?'

'What?' she said, surprised. 'No, no. Mason and I are just friends. _Nothing _going on there. He'd wish. Maybe he'd be something for you, though, if your marriage to Christian doesn't work out…'


End file.
